Ascent of the Ice Dragon
by Snow-hime
Summary: With the Dark Tournament underway as well as an insane ex-spirit detective plotting the destruction of humanity and a cult dedicated to starting Armageddon, Annabel would love to meet whatever twisted jerk thought this all would be fun and punch them in the face. Then again, punching a large spirit dragon isn't a good idea.
1. Prologue

**A/N: I was going to wait until Saturday to upload this but I'm honestly so hyped about this sequel! You can kinda tell the Black Tournament is my favorite arc since the chapters will be longer. *sweat drops* This was meant to be a rewrite of Why Us! with Densetsu playing a more noticable role but this became a story of its own. Please, feel free to drop a review. It can be anything from saying how you liked the chapter or even critiques on my grammar. As most authors usually point out, a review can make a writer's day. Sorry for the rambling, got carried away. Enjoy the chapter!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho, that honor goes to Yoshihiro Togashi. Annabel, Miranda and other Ocs are of my own creation.**

 **Key**

 _ **Bold Italic: Densetsu speaking or telepathy**_

 **Bold: Flashbacks or Mindscape**

* * *

 **Pre-tournament: Wait, the Cat's Already out of the Bag?!**

"So does anyone know who the two mystery guys are that are joining our team?" Kuwabara asks, Hiei's eyes narrowed. "I believe one of them is already here." He says, his gaze directed to a nearby tree. "Man, how am I supposed to make a cool entrance if someone already knows I'm here?" A baritone voice complains as a figure walked out of the shadows. He had wavy blond hair gathered in a short ponytail and grey-blue eyes that shone with mirth. He wore a navy-blue trench coat and black fingerless gloves. "I'm Ryuuzaki, Annabel's replacement for the tournament." He says smoothly. "What?! Toguro tried dragging her into this too?" Kuwabara exclaims, Ryuuzaki nodded. "They came to an agreement and decided to send me to represent her. It's nice to finally put some faces to your names." He says with a grin.

Kuwabara seemed to be buying it but Kurama and Hiei would be a harder sell. It would've been easier to enter the tournament as himself, dammit! As he leaned against the tree the demons saw that frost began to climb up the tree's trunk. While his appearance was completely different his energy was still the same, it was the reason why Kuwabara felt comfortable near the stranger despite not knowing him. Hiei was wondering why the woman was in disguise and Kurama was sure to figure out Ryuuzaki's identity soon.

 **XoXoXo**

When Yusuke and a masked man arrived he looked surprised to see the blond. "So you're the one that switched out with Anna. You any good?" Yusuke asks, Ryuuzaki rolled his eyes. "After the hellish training I was put through I'd hope so. I'm Ryuuzaki, nice to meet you." The blond says, extending his hand. Before he had a chance to shake it Hiei appeared to have his own greeting with the spirit detective involving… a sword? "Wouldn't make more sense to test the new guys?" Kuwabara asks aloud in confusion. "It's a rival thing. Kinda like Vegeta and Goku." Ryuuzaki says with a shrug. "Or Hiei's just homicidal. Either explanation works."

When they arrived on the ship it was obvious that their team would be the main target. Theirs was the only one that had humans, four of them. "So who are we sending to represent us?" Ryuuzaki asks, leaning against the railing of the boat. He looked completely calm in the face of all the blood lust coming from the demons, cracking his knuckles. "I'll go." Kuwabara volunteers, only to take it back when he saw demons that were larger than himself. Ryuuzaki silently chuckled, and he was the one that brought down Byakko and technically Younger Toguro? "Okay, anyone else?" Ryuuzaki deadpanned, only to see everyone looking at him.

"Alright, but don't expect this to be PG." Ryuuzaki states, willing his claws into existence. He felt everyone glare down at him as his blue eyes turned violet, his stride a confident one. He gave a humorless chuckle. "You schmucks are nothing compared to my masters. Bring it on." He taunts, eyes glinting in excitement as they all charged at him at once. He weaved in and out between them, using his claws to slash through his opponents. **_You're having way too much fun._** Annabel says, not liking the sight of so much blood. She and the dragon agreed that when it came to merciless killings that Densetsu would temporarily take over for her.

The demons, realizing their representatives were getting their asses handed to them, attacked all at once. "Tch, no sportsman like conduct at all. What a bunch of sore losers." Ryuuzaki states, surprised to find himself back to back with Hiei. "An interesting disguise onna but quite pointless. It looks like you aren't helpless after all." He says off handedly, Ryuuzaki's eyes widened. "How the heck did you know?" He demands, Hiei smirked. "You've forgotten that I know your spirit energy, it's the only thing that hasn't changed." He says, slashing through a demon with his katanna.

When they reached Hanging Neck Island the other contestants were either dead or unconscious. The entire time Yusuke had been asleep and somehow fighting off his attackers. Ryuuzaki sweat dropped, his masters often tried attacking him in his sleep so he knew how the teen felt. "Does anyone else think that it's morbid that we're going to an island that sounds like a suicide destination?" Ryuuzaki asks curiously. "What do you mean?" Kuwabara asks, Ryuuzaki deadpanned. "How much do you actually know about this tournament?" He asks, Kuwabara looked embarrassed. "We're just fighting, didn't think I'd need to learn anything." Ryuuzaki face palmed. "We're heading to Hanging Neck Island and the tournament is sponsored by the same criminal organization that the deceased Tarukane belonged to." With that both Kuwabara and Hiei scowled, Kurama looked at Ryuuzaki suspiciously. "How would you know about that?"

"Koenma filled me in on what happened. I've had a run in with them as well, it's the only reason I was accepted as a substitute." Ryuuzaki explains. He didn't mention that younger Toguro had found him training in the Makai and saw his other form. It was the only reason why Koenma's plan hadn't back fired. "At least Anna didn't get dragged into this, she was terrified when she heard he was still alive." Kuwabara says, remembering that the girl had a panic attack. No such luck. Ryuuzaki thought with a sigh. Compared to that one-man army the Saint Beasts paled in comparison. **_Already giving up before you've tried, how pitiful._** Densetsu snorted. Oh shut up you over grown lizard! Ryuuzaki shot back, unaware of the scowl on his face. "Uh, Ryuuzaki? You're not going to snap on us, are you?" Kuwabara asks, Ryuuzaki looked up in confusion. "Huh? Why would I wanna do that?" He asks. "Ya looked like you wanted to punch someone." Kuwabara answered, the blond sighed. "Just remembered something unpleasant, nothing to worry about." He says as they went to the front desk to pick up their room cards.

There was an entire floor reserved for the participants in the Black Tournament, since they were invited they didn't have to go through any further screenings. There were two rooms between Urameshi's group, one containing Kuwabara, Yusuke and Kurama the other Hiei, Ryuuzaki and the Masked Man. Unknown to them Botan, Keiko, Atsuko, Miranda and Shizuru were all in the same hotel looking for them. Kuwabara breathed a sigh of relief when he was assigned his roomates, he really didn't trust those other guys not to kill him in his sleep! "Alright guys, we need a battle plan!" Kuwabara exclaims, suddenly fired up. "Maybe it's a good thing he's too slow to realize how dangerous this all is." Ryuuzaki mutters under his breath.

Currently they were all sitting around a table drinking tea while Ryuuzaki stubbornly insisted on having coffee, his glare threatening bodily harm if they dared to suggest he not have caffeine. Kuwabara brought his own drink, not trusting the hotel staff. As they began to discuss how to observe their upcoming opponents Ryuuzaki subconsciously straightened as he felt two additional auras enter the room.

"We need to decide an anchor." Ryuuzaki decided to say, the others looked at him in confusion. "Huh?" Was Kuwabara's eloquent reply. "We need to decide who's our heavy hitter… err… the strongest out of us all and save them until the end. I really need to stop reading sports manga." Ryuuzaki groaned. "It certainly would be a good idea to get a grasp on how powerful each of us are." Kurama agrees as Yusuke continued snoring on the couch. As the rest of their group drank their tea, Kurama's brow suddenly furrowed. "Strange, there's a cup missing. There should have been five." He states. "I haven't touched it." Kuwabara says, Ryuuzaki's eyes narrowed. "There's someone else here." He says calmly, taking another gulp of coffee. His eyes shifted to a dresser where a child-like youkai sat. The youkai grinned.

"Where did that kid come from?" Kuwabara exclaims, Ryuuzaki sighed. And he was supposed to be the spiritually sensitive one. Rinku chuckled. "Let me introduce myself. My name's Rinku, I'm one of the Six Youkai entering the tournament with you." He says cheerfully. "Nice to meet ya kid." Ryuuzaki says jovially. "Take this at least a little seriously!" Kuwabara snapped. "Don't really feel like going all doom and gloom right now. We should probably greet his friend as well, the one standing at the door?" "So you're a sensory type then. Your energy did spike slightly when I entered." Zeru states, Ryuuzaki shrugged. "You'll be surprised what a good cup of coffee does."

 **XoXoXo**

"You've certainly improved since I last saw you. Any reason for the male disguise?" Hiei asks, Ryuuzaki ran a hand through his blond hair. "Koenma's idea, not mine. It took a while for me to get used to this body. If he wasn't in a toddler form I'd punch him in the face." He grumbles, Hiei raised an eyebrow. "And the personality?" Ryuuzaki scowled. "I just had my entire body chemistry changed, so excuse me for having testosterone!" He snapped, crossing his arms. **_If only they knew that this is what you'd act like if you didn't give a shit about being polite!_** Densetsu cackled, Ryuuzaki fought the urge to roll his eyes. It was odd how relaxed he felt near the fire demons, after being around demons that legitimately wanted to kill her his presence was calming. While he made it clear that he looked down on humans he had never treated her aggressively due to her giving the demon proper respect.

"So now we have two mystery teammates, great. Not that I'm not relieved that Anna didn't get dragged into this." Kuwabara says quickly. "They are both powerful in their own rights. At least with Annabel there wouldn't have been any unknown variables." Kurama says as Yusuke slept on, uncaring of his surroundings. He hadn't perceived either of them as threats so it seemed that they could trust their teammates for now. Still, Kurama had a feeling that the two weren't strangers after all. He just couldn't recall who at that moment.


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: Just a fair warning, this story will be darker than my original. I just love Densetsu's role of devil's advocate, it makes the character change Ryuuzaki has from "Annabel" more believable. Let me know what you think in a review and enjoy the chapter!**

 **Key**

 ** _Bold Italic: Densetsu speaking/telepathy_**

 **Bold: Mindscape/Flash backs**

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Is Fighting Rinku Considered Child Abuse?**

The first opponent the group had was team Rokuyukai, containing the two demons that invaded their room the other day. Each of the teams had a sponsor from the human world, all rich men watching purely for the carnage. Ryuuzaki scowled, it wasn't just demons that could be heartless. Koto, a brunette that looked like some sort of cat demon, officially started the tournament with the first qualification round. Both team waited in a tunnel that led to the arena, Kuwabara looking noticeably nervous while Ryuuzaki kept his unease internalized. "Man, just our luck having to be the first match in this round. We'll need to make a good first impression." Ryuuzaki says, patting Kuwabara on the back. The punk yelped, glaring at the blond. "What was that for? Were you trying to break my spine?!" Kuwabara exclaims, starting a one-sided yelling match while Ryuuzaki just grinned. With Yusuke still asleep Ryuuzaki took it upon himself to diffuse the tension.

The stands were full of demons that wanted to see bloodshed, all waiting impatiently as Koto began introducing the teams. "Now introducing Team Rokuyukai!" Koto shouts as the crowd began to cheer, Ryuuzaki deadpanned. "Really? Six Demons? That's an original name." He says sarcastically. "Our team is named after Yusuke, we don't have a right to judge." Kurama states as Ryuuzaki visibly deflated, grumbling something about logic being stupid. It seemed that outside of combat he was very childish. "And now introducing our dark horse of this tournament: Team Urameshi!" As they walked into the stadium they were met by jeers and death threats. Kuwabara, thankfully, only looked annoyed at the insults.

As soon as Rinku saw them he laughed. "Is that idiot still asleep? This match is going to be easier than I thought!" He jeers, Kuwabara growled. He was going to wipe the grin off that smug kid's face! The teams both went onto the platform, waiting for further instruction from the announcer. "The team leaders now must agree to the terms of combat. You can choose to go through a series of duels, for example." Koto explains. "Team leader huh, but Yusuke's still asleep." Kuwabara comments, Kurama only smiled. "Why don't you take his place for now Kuwabara?" "M-Me?" Kuwabara gave an awkward laugh, his ego successfully stroked. "I can do that, no problem!" He says confidently. In the stands the girls all sighed in exasperation. "My brother is still an idiot." Shizuru says bluntly. Miranda was looking down at the group, eyes glistening. "I don't see Anna anywhere but it looks like they brought another hottie on their team!" Miranda squealed. "Yusuke! Get up you lazy ass!" Atsuko yelled, a cup of beer in hand. "You're drinking already?!"

Ziro and Kuwabara both stepped. "You may choose the method of combat, I prefer to duel." Ziro states, Kuwabara grinned. "That's fine by me!" Kuwabara says in agreement. As Kuwabara walked away with the still sleeping Yusuke slung over his shoulder Ziro let out a portion of his energy. A move meant to provoke the sleeping fighter, only to be completely ignored in favor of sleep. What kind of hellish training did Genkai put him through anyways? I have a feeling I don't want to know. Ryuuzaki thought. **_You're thinking this after being hunted down and trained by four sadistic demons._** Densetsu says bluntly, Ryuuzaki's nose twitched minutely. Training was still torture, no matter what teachers tried to tell their students!

The first match was between Kuwabara and Rinku. The smaller demon was wondering why they didn't send Yusuke first, assuming that he was the weakest. They did send their weakest, Kuwabara was too prideful to admit it. "Alright, let's play!" Rinku says with a grin. The small demon started the match with a display of his agility in an attempt to disorient Kuwabara. It might have been impressive if the pompadour haired punk didn't have such a strong sixth sense and had seen Hiei fight. This kid had nothing on the fire demon. "Quit the acrobat routine!" Kuwabara yells, punching the demon's head like one would an annoying brother. Each time Rinku would try to use his speed to his advantage he would be met by a fist to the face. "I'm actually starting to feel sorry for the kid. Is it considered child abuse if he's a demon that's probably several times my age?" Ryuuzaki wonders aloud. "That idiot needs to stop playing around." The Masked Man says, Hiei nodded in agreement.

Kuwabara punched Rinku in the gut and went for the finishing blow when his opponent disappeared from his line of sight. "Wha?" "Having fun?" Rinku asks in amusement, appearing behind the delinquent. Kuwabara turned and was met by a kick to the head. "So Kuwabara wasn't the only one holding back." Kurama comments as the delinquent fell to the ground. "We're going up against demons, he should know better than to lower his guard. It's the Rando incident all over again!" Ryuuzaki complains, not noticing the thoughtful look the Masked Man was giving him.

Kuwabara stood to his feet, compared to Yusuke's punches that felt like nothing! "Looks like I have to change tactics then." He says, taking out several yo-yos. In response Kuwabara created dual energy swords. The yo-yos were covered in reiki and moved in a manner similar to a snake, spiraling past his swords to hit him in the torso and face. They sent Kuwabara on the run, the childish weapons creating trenches in the stone platform. "This is embarrassing." Ryuuzaki grumbles. **_Agreed, that idiot should have taken his opponent out while he was still being underestimated._** Densetsu says dryly. I would have thought that you'd want to see an actual fight. Ryuuzaki answered. **_This isn't a fight, this is sadly one sided. We'll have to make up for his loss._** Densetsu states. Oh come on! Have a little confidence in the poor kid! Ryuuzaki says defensively. Oh god, was he actually arguing with himself? Maybe he was going crazy from his stay in this universe.

Rinku's yo-yo's wrapped around Kuwabara's limbs and the small demon repeatedly slammed him into the platform. "It seems your training wasn't enough Kurama." Hiei states, Ryuuzaki mentally wailed in despair and Densetsu cackled. Rinku lifted the teen high off the ground, enough to make Ryuuzaki look uncomfortable. He was glad this wasn't his fight, he hated heights! As Kuwabara plummeted to the ground he concentrated his energy to create his sword and extend it, launching himself towards the surprised demon. "Alright Kuwabara, show that old fashioned human resourcefulness!" Ryuuzaki cheered. Rinku smirked, he could just manipulate his yo-yos to attack Kuwabara and protect himself. In response Kuwabara's sword snaked around his yo-yos, both opponents taking the brunt of the attacks and sent flying out of the ring.

Despite the attacks both opponents stood to their feet. Unfortunately for Kuwabara he was a little… tied up. Rinku climbed back into the ring and a restrained Kuwabara was left fuming as he was officially counted out. "Thanks Kuwabara, you just sent the perception of humans for those demons back a couple centuries." Ryuuzaki says dryly. "You mind if I take this next one?" He asks.


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: I actually had to look up what the blade thing Roto uses was called. *sweat drops* If it's called something else feel free to correct it in a review. Feed back for this story would really be appreciated. Also I got a poll up on my profile to see what other story ideas you might want to see. Enjoy!**

 **Key**

 _ **Italic Bold: Densetsu speaking/ telepathy**_

 **Bold: Mindscape/Flashback**

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Cold Blooded**

Stepping into the ring with Roto, Ryuuzaki felt a strong feeling of foreboding. Had he forgotten something about this demon? He recalled that Kurama had a problem with this opponent but he didn't feel that strong. "There wasn't much information that I could gather about you Ryuuzaki. If there's one thing that I do know about you vermin it's that you stick together." Roto snickers, Ryuuzaki deadpanned. "I don't even need my intuition to tell me you're a sneaky bastard. You think that you have the upper hand somehow." He says bluntly, creating his ice claws to catch Koto's kama. He reinforced his legs with reiki and pushed the demon back with physical force, using the hooked end of his claw to free his other hand to rip through the demon's abdomen. "Are you willing to risk the life of your teammate's mother?" Roto asks with a smirk, stopping Ryuuzaki's attack as the blond looked at him in shock.

Ryuuzaki shook in anger, even for a demon this was low! Roto smirked, it had been a gamble but his plan succeeded. "Now, be a good human and put your claws away." Roto coaxed, Ryuuzaki growled but did as he was told. "Ryuuzaki, what the hell are you doing?" Kuwabara exclaims, Ryuuzaki's face was blank but anyone with a decent sixth sense could feel his energy barely being withheld from lashing out at his opponent. He couldn't just say that there was a potential hostage situation or this nut case would probably kill the woman for entertainment! **_You're a psychic you idiot! Try communicating with that dumb ass prince._** Densetsu growled, just as infuriated as its host. "Now then, now you'll be my personal punching bag. One wrong move and my associates kill the humans." Against his better instincts Ryuuzaki dropped his guard, staring at Roto in calm anger.

 ** _Koenma!_** The spirit prince startled, looking around for the person that called his name. **_Down here, in the ring. Can you get someone to check on Kurama's parents? This bastard isn't fighting fair._** Ryuuzaki says darkly, Koenma found himself nodding. "Uh, Koenma? Are you alright?" Miranda asks, the spirit prince took out a communication compact. "I need to check something quickly. Save my seat!" He shouts, the girls sweat dropped. They were in a reserved area, not a baseball arena! As Roto continuously taunted Ryuuzaki and slashed at the silently seething human Koenma made an important call.

 **XoXoXo**

In Sarayashiki, Hiromi's store phone began to ring. "Book Charming, how may I help you?" The woman asks sweetly. "Hiromi, I need someone to check on the fox's parents. They may be in danger." Koenma says gravely, Hiromi sighed. It was always a life or death situation with that brat. She was getting too old for this. "I'll call Shiro and ask if he's spotted any demons stalking humans in town. I'll call you back when I hear from him." "Shiro? What is he doing there?" Koenma asks, Hiromi deadpanned. "With the amount of demons that have taken an interest in your new errand girl we need as much protection as we can get. Someone had to pick up after your lazy ass."

An elderly man with long white hair and a scar across one eye notched his bow with an energy arrow, aiming for the reptilian demons that were following a human couple. The arrow hit one of the demons in the throat and he had another arrow notched and flying before other demon knew what hit it. Shiro snorted, definitely lackeys. There were a few demons in town but only that reptile duo had been stupid enough to openly stalk humans in a town currently being protected. He heard the compact in his pocket ring and had a feeling the call had something to do with the demons. "Hiromi, I take it this isn't a social call." He states. "Have you seen any demons targeting a human couple in town?" Hiromi asks with equal bluntness. "I just took out a pair, I'll keep a close eye on them for now. Is that satisfactory?" Shiro asks, Hiromi chuckled. "That's just fine dear. Now that spirit prince owes me one." As the woman cackled Shiro shook his head, glad he didn't have to deal with the sadistic woman.

 **XoXoXo**

Roto was becoming more and more unnerved, no matter what he did this guy wouldn't show any signs of agony! Looks like I'll have to step things up. Roto thought, licking Ryuuzaki's blood off his blade. "I've tired of this game. I think I'll end this game by cutting off your head." He sneers, not noticing Koenma making his way back to his seat. Ryuuzaki looked over Roto's shoulder and saw Koenma give him an ok sign. Ryuuzaki visibly relaxed before giving Roto a sinister smirk, his eyes promising pain. Roto startled, he had the upper hand. Why did the human suddenly look so confident? "Y-You can't do anything. If you do I'll press this button and those humans will die!" He shouts, taking a step back despite his words.

"Oh? I got word that those lackeys of yours were taken out. That means I no longer have to hold back." He says as ice slowly crept up the demon's legs, Roto began thrashing in vain. "It's not fun feeling helpless is it?" Ryuuzaki asks coldly. "I-I wasn't really going to kill them! Please, I don't want to die!" The demon shrieked, flailing his kama only to hit air. Ryuuzaki only smiled. "If only those words were true." Koto screamed until the ice covered his chest and, finally, his head. Ryuuzaki made the gesture of squeezing something, causing the frozen demon to explode into pieces. "I suppose we don't need a count for this one." Ryuuzaki says as the shaken neko gulped. "W-Winner, Ryuuzaki of Team Urameshi!" Even though the crowd was upset that Roto had lost, they still cheered at the gore from the demon's death.

"Dude, what was that about? You didn't have to kill him!" Kuwabara yells, Ryuuzaki sighed. "He threatened to kill the fox's mother. For dragging innocents into this fight he submitted himself to death." He says monotonously. Inwardly he felt sick, positive the image of the exploding body would be haunting his nightmares. The worst part? Deep down there was something that reveled in the gore and violence. All he wanted was to isolate himself and scrub his arms raw in an attempt to rid himself of the blood he spilled. **_None of these demons are going to show us any mercy kid. It's them or us, and I have an actual interest in keeping you alive._** Densetsu says coldly.

Kurama's eyes narrowed before he nodded. "Thank you Ryuuzaki-san." Ryuuzaki rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "If you wanna thank someone, thank Koenma. He's the one that ordered someone to take out Roto's lackeys. I only took out the brain." He says with a goofy grin. As he passed Hiei the fire demon looked at him with narrowed eyes. "Whoever you're in contact with is right. None of our opponents will have any second thoughts about killing us." Ryuuzaki sighed. "Dammit, forgot about that you could read minds. Don't worry, Densetsu has my best interests in mind. They value their own existence too much." At least, he hoped that was the case.


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hey guys! I'm back with a another chapter, not much to say this time. *sweat drops* Let me know what you think in a review and enjoy!**

 **Key**

 _ **Italic Bold: Densetsu speaking/telepathy**_

 **Bold: Mindscape/Flashback**

* * *

 **Chapter Three: A Heated Battle and a Brutal Brawl!**

Why do I have a feeling Hiei is about to do something stupid? Ryuuzaki wondered, Densetsu snorted. **_He's a male, arrogance usually has a way of dragging them down. Your demon boyfriend has that in spades. He recently received a great power, one that feels… familiar._** Densetsu says thoughtfully. He is not my boyfriend! Ryuuzaki denies vehemently, Densetsu only chuckled. Ryuuzaki tried to sense what Densetsu was talking about, recoiling when he felt a dark energy similar to Densetsu's around Hiei's arm. Densetsu, you don't have any friends do you? Ryuuzaki asks cautiously, Densetsu cackled. **_I wondered where my shadow went! I'll admit he's done well to make a partial contract with that thoughtless beast without dying. It was supposed to be isolated in the Makai._** Densetsu explains.

Both flame wielding demons walked up to the platform, both confident in their abilities. "You think that's their leader?" Kuwabara asks, Densetsu tentatively prodded what was left of their opponent's team with his energy. "Well he seems to have the strongest spirit energy of the four left. But that's just based off of their energy, we don't know what they specialize in yet. Rinku had the second weakest energy yet he managed to kick your ass after all." Ryuuzaki states, Kuwabara bristled. "And what would you have done then?" Kuwabara demands, the blond deadpanned. "I wouldn't have volunteered to fight. I have no interest in fighting children, it's against my morals." He states. And how could he? He grew up looking after other kids, he couldn't stand the thought of children getting hurt.

"Let the match begin!" Ziro stared the fight by unleashing a powerful wave of fire reiki. "Warmth." Ryuuzaki muttered, a slight smile on his face. "Warm?! This guy feels like he's trying to incinerate us!" Kuwabara yelps, Ryuuzaki just shrugged. His body was exposed to constantly cold temperatures due to his powers so any worth that could cut through the cold was a blessing. Ziro struck out at Hiei, his hand going through his chest and lighting the demon's body alight. Kurama, Kuwabara and Ryuuzaki looked on in shock. "I was expecting more of a challenge." Ziro says, walking away from what should have been Hiei's charred body. Instead he stood to his feet, a demonic fire emanating from them. Ryuuzaki shivered, Densetsu growled. **_I wouldn't suggest approaching it unless you want to start a fight you can't finish._** It warns. Why would I want another you in my head? Ryuuzaki scoffed, Densetsu was silent. It wasn't like the spirit dragon to sudden stop their banter. Was combining Densetsu and its shadow really that dangerous?

Hiei's shirt had burned away and his Jagan eye gleamed, its owner grinning sadistically. "Your amateur parlor tricks are no match for the Jagan's power." Hiei says, his opponent frozen with fear and the referee fleeing to safety. "Black Dragon!" A black dragon, made entirely of flames, flew towards Ziro. The flames were so intense there was nothing left of the demon's body, only a shadow on the wall left. It was like seeing the after math of an explosion from World War 2, Ryuuzaki could see why it would be dangerous to combine Densetsu and this thoughtless dragon together again. He did not have a death wish. "T-The winner is Hiei!" Koto announced, the arena was silent. Hiei walked back to the team nonchalantly, Kuwabara gulped. "Glad he's on our side." Ryuuzaki's eyes narrowed. "You don't get that kind of power without some sort of sacrifice." Ryuuzaki states. He was well aware of this fact, he had to condition his body in order to use his powers without dying of hypothermia. Hiei just smirked. "Relax, I'll be with you until the end of the tournament." Well that's one way to reassure the guy. Ryuuzaki thought.

The show of power intimidated two of the Rokuyokai, throwing them into a panic. There's no way those men will be able to fight properly. They look ready to piss themselves. Ryuuzaki thought in amusement. With that mind set they were guaranteed a win. There was a blur of movement on their opponent's side, the panicking men's heads cleanly cut off from the rest of their bodies. That's… quite an entrance. Ryuuzaki thought, looking at the large mohawked demon. He reeked of booze that somehow seemed to mix together with his spirit energy. Is this guy a drunken master or something? Ryuuzaki wondered, recalling a Jackie Chan movie he watched as a kid. The smell had been strong enough to pull Yusuke out of his sleep. "Looks like this one is mine. This should be a good work out." Yusuke says, cracking his knuckles.

"Yusuke, don't underestimate him. He isn't just a drunk, there's something off about him." Ryuuzaki says, Yusuke grinned. "Should be an interesting opponent then. Your insight reminds me of someone, I can't remember who." The teen says, scratching the back of his head. Ryuuzaki chuckled weakly. Oh come on, Hiei and the Masked Man already knew who he was! He did not need any more people in that inner circle. The only reason they knew was due to being more exposed to his energy than the others! He shifted closer to Hiei, glancing at Hiei's arm and sighed. He leaked his cold energy and had it encase his arm, earning a glare. "Just suck up your pride and let me numb the pain a little." Ryuuzaki retorts, Hiei only rolled his eye but made no move to stop him. He must really be in pain not to refuse help. The interaction between the two wasn't unnoticed by their teammates. This is the first time I've seen Hiei so relaxed near a human. Kurama thought. From what they'd seen so far the blond seemed to be a decent person and he already had his suspicions on who the Masked Man was. The tall demon looked down at his opponent in amusement. "A little exercise huh?"

In the blink of an eye Chu appeared beside Koto, snatching the microphone from her hands. "Before we start I just wanna make it clear this isn't janken, which I'm bad at! I'm not afraid of anyone!" He announced. "They decided their order by janken?" Ryuuzaki deadpanned. "Ahem, it seems that Chu was actually the boss of their team and was only a replacement due to bad luck." Koto explains, Ryuuzaki face palmed. "Why do I have a feeling it's just going to turn into a brawl between two adrenaline junkies?" He grumbles.

That was exactly what it devolved into after both opponents showed their special abilities and eventually ran out of reiki to use. Yusuke and Chu both stood across each other, standing between two daggers with their ankles pressed close to the blades. After that it was just a barrage of punches, a purely physical fight. Almost… primal. It all, literally, came to a head when they both headbutted each other. All that fighting and it all comes down to who has a harder head. Huh, usually Densetsu would be making a comment by now. Ryuuzaki thought as Chu fell to the ground. Koto began the ten count and Ryuuzaki sighed. "Well that settles it, he's definitely hard headed." Hiei chuckled, much to his surprise. "It wouldn't be the first time he's used his head." Hiei comments. "D-Did you just joke?" Ryuuzaki asks, stunned. Hiei only smirked, leaving Ryuuzaki to his realization that the small demon actually had a sense of humor.

"Hey kid. Tell him that when he wakes up that we can have a rematch whenever he wants." Yusuke says with a grin. "Uh, yeah. Of course!" Rinku says nervously. "What the hell was that?!" "We came here for blood and death, kill him!" "We want our money back!" The crowd jeered. Ryuuzaki's expression darkened. These fights were for survival. If they could go through matches without killing then that was an accomplishment. All those morons in the stand wanted was blood and gore! He startled when he felt something brush up against his arm. "Don't let those idiots rile you up." Hiei states, Ryuuzaki scoffed. "They wouldn't act so tough if they actually had to face us." Ryuuzaki comments. "Everyone, shut the hell up!" Yusuke yells. "If you all want blood then come down here and play with us. Come on, we're waiting!" Yusuke sneered, the members of Team Urameshi all looking ready to fight. The crowd quieted as Yusuke went to Chu and helped the fallen demon to the medical staff provided for the tournament. "Urameshi… thank you." The demon says quietly, Yusuke grinned. "Hey, us adrenaline junkies gotta stick together."

"Hey Rinku." The kid demon stilled when the blond human approached him. He'd seen the human make a teammate of his explode, he wasn't going to kill him in revenge for Kuwabara's loss was he? Why were all of these humans so unpredictable? "Y-Yes?" He squeaked, unnerved by the stare that the blond was giving him. Looking up close his eyes were blue, not purple. Maybe they changed when he was fighting? "You think you could teach me how to do a few yo-yo tricks?" Ryuuzaki asks sheepishly, making the kid collapse with relief. Thank kami, he wasn't going to kill him! "Sure! But why would you want to learn?" He asks curiously, Ryuuzaki grinned. "Well my cousins are close to your age and I thought it would be something cool to teach them. I tried learning myself but I don't have the patience for it."

Team Urameshi watched as Ryuuzaki repeated hit himself in the face with a yo-yo, Rinku laughing hysterically in the background. Ryuuzaki didn't look upset, just a bit embarrassed at his lack of technique. "So the guy's good with kids. Who knew?" Kuwabara thought aloud.


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N: After this chapter, my updates might be slower than usual. Who knew some small changes would make me have to rewrite the later chapters? Hope you all enjoy the chapter and feel free to review!**

 **Key**

 ** _Italic Bold: Densetsu speaking/ telepathy_**

 **Bold: Flash back/Mindscape**

* * *

 **Chapter 4: A Doctor with no Morals and the Devoted Disciples**

As Team Urameshi went to get in some last minute training before their next match there were two members that weren't completely recovered. Yusuke's spirit gun wasn't working and Hiei tried going off by himself to grit through the pain his arm was in, only to be tailed by a stubborn Ryuuzaki. "For god's sake, no one's expecting you to be Super Man. At least take some pain medication, I'm sure Kurama's got some sort of demon plant that can make the pain manageable." Ryuuzaki states, covering Hiei's arm in his energy once again. Hiei's arm was literally steaming whenever Ryuuzaki's cold energy hit the super heated limb it so the blond had to increase the amount being used. Ryuuzaki just hoped that the group they were up against would be easier than their first opponents, only the Masked Fighter, Kurama and herself were still at a hundred percent.

Kurama stayed in the arena, watching the competition. He was surprised that three of their opponents were humans, using an energy that wasn't visible to tear down the other team. They worked in perfect unison and were obviously being manipulated. Dr. Ichigaki's team wasn't the only team he kept a close eye on. Toguro's team hadn't even deemed their opponents as a threat, Toguro completely destroyed the entire team by himself at only forty five percent of his power. The only good news was that they wouldn't face the Toguro brothers until the final round of the tournament.

Ryuuzaki looked at the tournament tree and groaned. "We got dragged here to face the Toguro brothers, you'd think that we'd be fighting them sooner!" He complains. Inwardly he was sobbing with relief. Oh thank god we don't have to face them until the last round! Maybe we'll get lucky and another team will kill them off! Ryuuzaki thought optimistically. **_Then you'd be going up against opponents even more powerful than them you idiot. I, for one, am looking forward to the rematch!_** Densetsu cackled. You secretly want me to die, don't you. Densetsu stated bluntly.

 **XoXoXo**

The next day Kurama and Hiei were nowhere to be found. Only Yusuke, Kuwabara, the Masked Fighter and Ryuuzaki were in the arena. "Hey Ryu, where's Kurama and Hiei?" Kuwabara demands, Ryuuzaki ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "Hiei was supposed to be blowing off some steam in the woods. Weren't you two keeping an eye on Kurama?" He asks, both teens slumped. "He's the most mature of us. We didn't think he'd run off." Kuwabara mutters. "You all did well in the first round, with the exception of one of you." A tall brunet teen with Jr printed on his head states, Kuwabara bristled. "Hey, if it wasn't for those yo-yos tying me up I would have kicked his ass!" Kuwabara protests.

"Wait… That voice and a stupid sucker? Koenma?!" Yusuke exclaims. "Seriously?" Kuwabara asks. Ryuuzaki looked at Koenma and gave a respectful bow. "Been a while Koenma. How are my masters doing?" Ryuuzaki asks curiously, Koenma sighed. "They're as troublesome as ever. I don't know how you survived them. They demanded to see your matches." Ryuuzaki seemed to brighten, his eyes glistening. "Really?!" He exclaims. "Two of them are hoping to see you die a brutal death." Koenma says bluntly, Ryuuzaki shrugged. "I didn't like those bastards either. The other two are the only ones that gained my respect." He says. "Wait, you had four masters? Why couldn't you get me one?" Kuwabara demands. "He owed me a favor." Ryuuzaki states.

While team Ichigaki only had three of their team, Team Urameshi had four. "Guys, those are the people I saw in my dream!" Kuwabara exclaims. "Their energy feels strange." Densetsu says, his eyes narrowed. Both Yusuke and Ichigaki stepped up to discuss the fighting rules. "How about we go three on three. Sound fair?" The demon asks, if you counted the doctor it would have been four on four. "Sure, I'll be one of the ones to fight. I take it you'll just be watching from the sidelines?" Yusuke asks, the demon smirked. "I'm only here to guide them. Now pick your fighters."

"Alright, so which three are going to fight?" Yusuke asks bluntly. Ryuuzaki looked thoughtful for a moment. "I think I'll sit this one out. I only take out trash, the only one that fits that description isn't even fighting." He states, jabbing his thumb in Ichigaki's direction. The three humans were clearly being controlled, he didn't want to fight against a puppet. Kuwabara shivered. "Yeah, that guy definitely gives me the creeps." With Kuwabara's eerie dream and the bet that Dr. Ichigaki wanted to make for their bodies no one felt like going into this fight. Their opponents were only victims of a cruel demon that cared nothing for human life. It was with heavy hearts that they walked into the ring.

The fighting would be three on three, the winner would be decided in one battle. Ryuuzaki leaned against the wall, his eyes watching Dr. Ichigaki so he wouldn't be tempted to try anything. Kurama and Hiei's absence wasn't an accident, the other two demons were delaying them. "It's too bad, if your ice human had joined you might have had a slightly better chance. Only by about two percent but it would have been something." Dr. Ichigaki states, Ryuuzaki only smirked. "Your statics don't include potential. They're more capable than you'd think." "You have so much faith, even with your body on the line as well?" The demon demands, Ryuuzaki raised an eyebrow. "With the shitty luck I've had lately, I figure that the universe owes me one." He says bluntly.

 **XoXoXo**

Meanwhile the demons from Dr. Ichigaki's team was hoping to ambush Kurama and Hiei, only for one of them to be cut into pieces. "So they think they can slow us down with these miserable things." Kurama states, if so their enemy was severely underestimating them. The surviving reptilian demon, while unnerved at how easily his partner was taken out, only smirked. "I'll just make a substitution." He says as a large creature walked into the opening. It had a single eye and a stocky build, its limbs connected to the rest of its body by what looked to be wires. Its arms stretched in an attempt to pin Kurama and Hiei. Kurama had successfully dodged its arms while Hiei, in a brief moment of distraction, got pinned to a tree. "Hiei!"

 **XoXoXo**

The combination of reiki disks, a giant claw made of reiki and an energy sword Team Urameshi had a lot to contend with. It would be difficult to dodge even if the boys could see their weapons! Ryuuzaki winced every time the attacks would land. If he was in there, at least he'd be able to see them! "You're one step closer to being my subjects." Ichigaki says with a smirk as the Masked Fighter was thrown out of the arena. The blond grit his teeth as he ignored the blood thirsty dragon in his head roaring for his blood to be spilled. "If you're aiming for my team to get disqualified by goading me to attacks it isn't happening." Ryuuzaki says icily.


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N: Well, here's the fifth chapter. *sighs* Honestly my muse has been coming and going, much to my frustration. I know where the story is going, now I just need to figure out how to write it. Hope you guys continue to enjoy this story and wish me luck.**

 **Key**

 _ **Italic bold: telepathy/ Densetsu speaking**_

 **Bold: flashback/mindscape**

* * *

 **Chapter 5: Righteous Rage and Pure Hearts!**

The three humans started concentrating their attacks on a hesitant Kuwabara. "Letting them kill you isn't going to free them of the doctor's control." The Masked Man, now revealed to be a woman, states. "And the Mask returns, and it's a woman!" Koto exclaims. Seconds later a decapitated body fell from the sky, soon followed by its head. "That's what you get for trying to get a-head of the competition." Ryuuzaki jokes, it was met by silence. "Just trying to lighten the mood." Ryuuzaki mutters, a depressed aura surrounding him.

A large creature crashed through the stadium and Hiei deadpanned. "The situation isn't anything to laugh at idiot." He states bluntly, Ryuuzaki grit his teeth. "I'm well aware of the situation. But getting upset isn't going to help those humans." He growls, Hiei wondered how much he truly knew when he saw the look of barely contained fury in his violet eyes. Enough for him to contemplate homicide at the very least. "Ichigaki promised to heal their master if they became his guinea pigs. They weren't aware that they would be made into killing machines. He was the one that caused the man's illness in the first place." Kurama explains, Ryuuzaki growled. "We already had a clue about how much of a bastard this guy is. You're really going to tell this to two teens with short tempers, in the middle of a fight where their opponents are aiming to kill, that the only one not fighting is evil? Their fighting was already half assed!"

Anger was a two-edged sword. On one hand it made attacks more aggressive, on the other it made them blind to everything else around them. The target of their anger wasn't even fighting, in fact he just served as a distraction! Kuwabara and Yusuke both charged at the doctor, only to be intercepted by their opponents. "Even after everything they just heard why are they still protecting that bastard?" Yusuke demands. "Those lumps on their backs are the heart of their system and controls all their movements. If they get removed they'll instantly die and they're programmed to put their lives on the line for me. If you want to kill me you'll have to kill them as well!" Ichigaki cackles. "I-I can't do that." Kuwabara says shakily, he wasn't like Hiei or Ryuuzaki. He couldn't just kill someone, they were innocent! "Kuwabara, you dumb ass! Get out of the way!" Ryuuzaki yells.

All three humans attacked at once as Ryuuzaki and the others could only watch as he fell to the ground. Like a puppet with its strings cut Ryuuzaki collapsed, the pendant around his neck struggling to keep too much spirit energy from leaking out. "Dammit, it isn't our fight. Stay out of it you stupid lizard!" Ryuuzaki hissed, gripping at his head. **_And why not? You are the one that feels this anger, I only offer to assist in your endeavors._** Densetsu purred, a darker energy than Ryuuzaki's attempting to overpower his own. A hand out of his shoulder brought him back to reality, Hiei's eyes narrowed. "You'll be explaining this outburst later. Calm yourself." He demands, Ryuuzaki snorted. "It's not like it'll just happen because you ordered it." He says, his body beginning to relax anyways. His anger was still there but now it was safely buried under the surface until it could be used for something useful. Densetsu scoffed, going back into the depths of Ryuuzaki's mind.

None of the attacks were vital, somehow the controlled humans were fighting against their control. As their souls cried out in pain Ichigaki only laughed with delight at their struggle. "In their position I think I'd rather die than be controlled by a monster like you." Yusuke says coldly, his reiki increasing with his anger. No longer was he going to hold back against his opponents, he was going to free them. Even if it was through death. As Yusuke's movements became more focused and his power increased Ichigaki watched in horror as the chances of his team winning began to plummet. The demon began to sweat. "The human spirit is always impossible to predict. Looks like the universe did me a solid after all." Ryuuzaki says with a predatory grin. "Now what was our prize if we won again? I believe you offered your life to a team that you managed to piss off to the point of giving them homicidal thoughts." He says with fake cheer. His teammates were getting whiplash from all the emotions the blond could go through in such a short time.

Just as Yusuke was going to hit En, Ryu and Kai with a spirit gun the young woman stopped him. "Stop, I'll do it myself." She announced, chanting in Chinese and gathering energy into fingers. They shone with light as she hit all three of them in the chest. "Light, fight, punishment!" All three devices exploded on their backs as they collapsed to the ground. As the ten count began Ichigaki began to sweat profusely, he hadn't expected his experiments to be defeated! As Team Urameshi was declared the winners Hiei, Kurama, Yusuke and Ryuuzaki all surrounded the demon. "You're going to pay." Yusuke growls. "W-Wait, I'm the only one that has the antidote for their master!" He protests, Ryuuzaki gave a humorless laugh. "You really underestimated us, for a doctor you sure are stupid."

The master was escorted into the arena by the Masked Fighter, Hiei smirked. "Your assistant was very forthcoming with information about his illness. Kurama is quite skilled at making remedies." Ichigaki scowled, after all the research he completed he wasn't going to be stopped by a small band of humans and human lovers! "I refuse to be done in! Now you'll learn the meaning of pure terror!" He exclaims, injecting himself with a syringe. It gave him a more beastly appearance but hadn't done much else, one punch from Yusuke sent him flying into the stands with his body completely obliterated.

Afterwards the master had been reunited with his students, they had survived the woman's attack due to their pure hearts. All of the evil deeds that they had committed was for their master and against their wills. While their bodies had been willing, their spirits had rebelled. "Well at least one of these fights had a happy ending." Ryuuzaki says, ignoring Densetsu's complaint about not getting to fight. Hiei turned to Ryuuzaki, his eyes narrowed. "Don't forget, we need an explanation for your sudden outburst." Ryuuzaki groaned. He hadn't even told Koenma about it! "Fine, but none of the information goes past this group. I only found out about this before I went off to train with my masters." Ryuuzaki says solemnly.


	7. Chapter 6

**A/N: This is where it starts to deviate from what I'd originally wanted. Densetsu isn't being helpful at the moment and decided to do their own thing. *sweat drops* Well, hopefully you'll enjoy this next chapter. Feel free to review!**

 **Key**

 _ **Italic Bold: telepathy/ Densetsu speaking**_

 **Bold: Mindscape/Flashback**

 _Italic: English/ any non-Japanese language_

 **Chapter 6: Shinobi Demons, is this Naruto now?**

"Damn, they really did a number on him." Ryuuzaki says with a wince. Thankfully Ryuuzaki or the Masked Fighter could replace Kuwabara so it wasn't that big of a deal. The only problem would be Kuwabara's pride, knowing him he'd insist on fighting anyways. "Where's the blood and gore?" "We want a death, not a sappy human scene!" The demons in the crowd roared. Ryuuzaki scowled. **_Come on Annabel, no one would miss those rejects in the crowd. The world would be better off without them._** Densetsu insists. I am not killing everything that earns my ire Densetsu. Only to those that truly deserve it. Though it is tempting. Ryuuzaki admits. Within Ryuuzaki's mindscape Densetsu smirked. Before their training with the demons its host would have insisted on solving everything without violence. Now the only thing that Ryuuzaki was against was senseless killings. The blond leaned against the wall, briefly closing his eyes. He looked calm and collected, inwardly he knew he'd need to let out some aggression or Densetsu would drive him crazy with his complaining.

"Calm down everyone! We're about to begin the next round!" Koto announces. Team Urameshi all stood at attention. "Seriously? We got an entire day to rest after the first round, shouldn't the rest of the tournament be similar? And the other team didn't even have to fight!" Densetsu protests. "Who's stupid idea was it to organize the tournament like this anyways?" Yusuke demands, Koto stuttered. "I'm just obeying orders, I didn't make the rules!" The crowd cheered, eager to see more blood and violence.

"Now everyone give a warm welcome to team Mashotsukai!" The inside of the arena was disturbed by a strong wind, revealing five cloaked figures. "Who will be the first to fight?" Koto asks. "Kuwabara's out of action, Densetsu you'll be replacing him." Yusuke states, the blond nodded. "Sounds fair, I didn't fight last time so I'll be good to go." He says, cracking his knuckles. Kuwabara isn't the only one that will be out of action. Kurama thought, looking discretely at the Masked Fighter and Hiei.

Another strong wind swirled around one of the cloaked figures, revealing a red headed demon with a single horn on this forehead. "I'll go first." Jin says with a grin that had Miranda squealing in the stands. Ryuuzaki mentally groaned. I know he's an opponent but he feels too… playful to really hate. I'm more tempted to give him a hug than throw a punch at him! Ryuuzaki mentally wailed. It didn't help that he was beginning to remember which demons in this tournament would eventually befriend their group. "It's Jin, the wind master!" At the unveiling, the crowd started to become more enthusiastic. "So that's Jin." Kurama comments, Yusuke raised an eyebrow. "You know him or something?" Yusuke asks. "They're a group of ninjas that work in the shadows." Kurama explains, Ryuuzaki deadpanned. When did I suddenly get thrown into Naruto? If I remember correctly they have an ice user on their team. It would be nice to see how my techniques compare to his. Ryuuzaki thought, his eyes glinting.

Yusuke and Jin both stepped up to the platform to determine the rules combat. "How about we go one on one?" Jin suggests. "Fine with me." Yusuke agrees. There was a brief crackle over the loud speaker. "Before the matches begin, we'll be doing a quick medical inspection. We ask that you be patient while an examination is conducted." Ryuuzaki deadpanned. "So they'll acknowledge that we need medical attention but they'll still make us fight? I'm starting to think the people that organized this tournament are either morons of the highest degree or stacking the odds against us. Knowing our luck it's a mixture of both."

A woman in a nurse's uniform walked down and examined the team. She pointed at Hiei and Genkai, their strongest fighters. "You and you, come with me please." The woman says. "Hey, wait a minute! Kuwabara obviously needs medical treatment as well!" Ryuuzaki protests, the woman gave her a cold stare. "Are you a certified medical professional?" The woman asks, Ryuuzaki's eyebrow twitched. "You don't need a degree to see the moron's hurt, it's common sense!" "Any further protests and you will be barred from fighting this round. Am I clear?" Ryuuzaki growled but said nothing.

As the medic went to evaluate Hiei and the Masked Fighter's health the others gathered together. "Kurama, you have a lot of plants right? Are there any that can speed up Kuwabara's recovery? I doubt our opponents will be fighting fairly." Ryuuzaki says, keeping an eye on the medic. "I could but we need to conserve our energy for all of our matches." Kurama says apologetically, Ryuuzaki cursed. "Use some of my energy then, out of all of us I'm the only one that hasn't fought yet. Will that work?" Kurama shook his head. "Your energy would kill the plants." They all startled when they felt a force field cutting Hiei and the Masked Fighter from them.

"After examination Hiei and the Masked Fighter are declared unable to fight!" The over heard speaker announced. Ryuuzaki looked like he was about to curse up a storm, to their surprise it was in a completely different language. Since none of the demons could understand him they couldn't say he was protesting with any certainty. So he's English. Kurama thought as Ryuuzaki ranted and raved, using several creative threats against the founders of the tournament. " _If I ever see those bastards I will take their innards, rip them out and tie them up with them! Then I'll put them on a pike!_ " Ryuuzaki yells in English, in the stands Miranda winced. "Miranda, do you know what he's saying?" Yukina asks innocently, Miranda paled. "You don't wanna know."

Their first opponent was Gamma, a demon wearing a bandanna and what looked like two short swords at his hip. "Let me go first, I'll try to wear them down." Ryuuzaki states, walking up to the platform. As he walked up to his opponent, Ryuuzaki noticed that what he assumed would be two short swords were just paint brushes. "That's… unusual." He states. Whatever Gamma was using as paint was increasing his power. "Alright, bring it on."


	8. Chapter 7

**A/N: Should I be worried about how easy it is for me to write characters going through pain? But... yay character development? Hope you guys enjoy the new chapter and feel free to leave a review! Seriously, it keeps my muse from wandering off as often. If you'll excuse me I have to drag it away from Katekyo Hitman Reborn! *runs after muse***

 **Key**

 _ **Italic Bold: Telepathy/ Densetsu speaking**_

 **Bold: Mindscape/Flash back**

* * *

 **Chapter 7: Gamma's Battle Paint; Ryuuzaki's Struggle!**

Gamma was faster than Ryuuzaki anticipated and blocked several punches with his ice claws. He skidded backwards from the force of Gamma's strikes, temporarily removing the claws to blast the demon backwards. That was way too close. Ryuuzaki thought, feeling that his heels were just on the edge of the platform. He slashed at his opponent, blood splashing onto his arm. Immediately it felt stiff and heavy, causing him to stumble. "What the hell did you do to my arm?!" Ryuuzaki demands, Gamma smirked. "My abilities don't limit me to improving my abilities, it allows me to apply different afflictions to my opponents. That arm is now useless." **_That bastard's blood is interfering with the energy that naturally flows through your body. I can overpower it briefly but it would take a lot of energy._** Densetsu growls.

One handed Ryuuzaki sent several blasts of ice energy at Gamma, growling in frustration as the demon was able to dodge the attacks. He was a close combat fighter but with Gamma's ability it wasn't a wise decision. He hadn't recalled the demon being this strong, had he missed something? When Gamma once again tried hitting Ryuuzaki with his "paint," Ryuuzaki had an idea as he raised his still functioning arm. "Ice barrier!" A solid wall of ice rose to protect the human and with further manipulation now had spikes. He pushed his energy further and watched with glee as the spikes shot out at their target. Gamma now looked like a demon pin cushion as Ryuuzaki's eyes flashed a violet color. "Checkmate." He says with a smirk, sending energy into the needles to completely freeze his opponent.

"He seems incapacitated. The count please?" Ryuuzaki asks as Koto began the 10 count. The blond lowered his shield and tried to regulate his breathing. He wasn't at his limit yet, he could still go on. At the very least he was in the best shape out of everyone in the team. "And 10! The winner is Ryuuzaki!" The neko exclaims as several demons in the audience booed. "Oh shut it you morons. And since this idiot didn't do anything to actually offend me he can live." Ryuuzaki says, thawing the ice from his opponent. **_Why would you spare our opponent?_** Densetsu demands. Their lives are on the line like ours are. The demons that we killed didn't have any redeeming q- Ryuuzaki froze. Since when did he start thinking like that?

"Hey Ryuuzaki, you good to go another round?" Yusuke asks as the blond seemed to be snapped out of his daze. Ryuuzaki grinned. "No problem, I've been looking forward to this match!" He says jovially, his excitement not quite reaching his eyes. He fitted on his claws as a demon with light blue hair walked onto the ring with a smirk. "Your sparing of Gamma was unexpected. Why would you let him live when you showed no mercy towards Roto?" He asks, Ryuuzaki scowled. "I'm here to fight, not be psychoanalyzed." Ryuuzaki growled.

Touya watched his opponent's response to his questioning, apparently he hit a nerve if the hostile answer was anything to go by. His entire team was made up of ninjas that moved in the shadows and watched their targets every movement, waiting the opportunity to strike. The blood that was binding one of the blond's arms was would be functional in a few minutes, inwardly he cursed his teammate for not being able to give his opponent a bigger handicap. The ice demon took out his own ice sword, it would be interesting to fight against a human with the same ability as his own. Both men felt adrenaline flood their veins, charging forward when Koto announced the start of the match.

Touya's moves were all calculated while Ryuuzaki struck with every ounce of strength he had, gritting his teeth as his claws clashed with Touya's sword. He struck out with one of his legs, sending the smaller male skidding back. Ryuuzaki's teammates watched as the blond lashed out at the ninja like a cornered animal, violet eyes narrowed and his teeth brought together in a silent snarl. Both the Masked Fighter and Hiei were watching in concern, the one fighting couldn't have been Ryuuzaki. While the attacks were aggressive, it was like he was toying with his opponent.

Ryuuzaki focused on his opponents movements, slowly trying to pry all of the demon's techniques out of him. Unknown to everyone but himself, it was no longer Ryuuzaki that had the reins over his body. **_What are you doing Densetsu? This was supposed to be my fight!_** Ryuuzaki protests, not liking the fact that he had been forcefully put into the back of his own mind. It was eerie watching his own body fight while he didn't have any control of the situation. **_You were too distracted by your moral dilemma to be any use to your team in this fight. Unless there is a ten count, these fights are to the death._** Densetsu snapped, making Ryuuzaki mentally flinch.

 ** _Your body is malfunctioning, you can resume control._** Densetsu states as Ryuuzaki felt control his body returning and the first thing that registered was pain in his chest. It felt like there was a vice grip around his heart and his body was already way past its limit. The human stopped and clenched at his heart, his face grimaced as he tried to fight through the pain. This was just the opportunity Touya needed as his blade pierced through his body. The once violet eye faded to an icy blue, filled with panic. There was a faint ringing in his ears and his vision was starting to dim. I'm going into shock aren't I? Seiryuu is going to be pissed that I let my guard down. Ryuuzaki thought as he felt the sword slide out of his body and he fell to the ground, blacking out.


	9. Chapter 8

**A/N: Hold on, is that... fluff?! Hey, Ryuuzaki deserves some kind of comfort after the things I put them through. -_-" I'm not that heartless! As always, hope you enjoy the chapter and feel free to leave a review!**

 **Key**

 _ **Bold Italic: Telepathy/Densetsu speaking**_

 **Bold: Flashback/Mindscape**

* * *

 **Chapter 8: Strong Willed**

There was a flare of reiki, fueled by rage as Hiei glared heatedly at the demon that had stabbed Ryuuzaki. But that doesn't make sense. Kurama thought. They had just met the man a few days before. The only human he'd ever shown any concern for was- Then it clicked. That cold energy, that was Annabel's. His face paled as Koto began the ten count, watching as Ryuuzaki managed to stand to his feet at eight. The blonde gave a pained grimace, swaying on his feet. His hand went to the wound and he hissed as the icy energy freezing his body closed his wound. He was standing through sheer will power, his eyes eerily blank.

How is this man still standing?! Touya wondered, watching as Ryuuzaki fought him off instinctively. It was becoming apparent that the human wouldn't stop until either he won or his body gave out. "Ryuuzaki, that's enough!" Kurama yelled, there was a glimpse of recognition in Ryuuzaki's eyes for a moment before the man landed a kick on the ice demon's side. Touya winced as he felt his ribs crack on impact. Whatever was holding Ryuuzaki back before was either no longer in play or he was ignoring it completely. While he wanted himself and his brothers to have a home in the light Jin had made it clear he wanted them all together.

"I forfeit." Touya states as the arena went silent. Then there was a stream of protests. "Moron! You had that human on the ropes!" "Where's your honor?!" "Coward!" They all roared as he walked out of the ring, as soon as Touya had reached his own group Ryuuzaki had collapsed. His teammates ran over to collect the fallen man and Touya mentally prepared for the verbal lashing he would receive for forfeiting. "What were you thinking? If you had stayed in that ring a few seconds over that human would have keeled over and died!" Ryoshu yells, Touya gave him an icy glare. "You weren't the one looking into his eyes, that human wouldn't have stopped until one of us was dead. Since he spared Gamma I decided to spare him. Do you have no faith in your own teammates?" Touya demands as Ryoshu flinched.

As Kurama took off Ryuuzaki's coat to look at his wounds there were two main problems that he'd noticed. One was that the human's body was radiating a cold energy, even in his unconscious state. Another was that his pulse was very faint, he could barely feel it when he checked Ryuuzaki's neck. The red head sighed. "The good news is that he won't bleed out, he used his own abilities to force the blood to freeze. We need to get him somewhere warm as soon as we can, his core body temperature is already below what would be considered safe for humans." Kurama says, taking off his jacket to place over Ryuuzaki. The blond's breathing was labored and his face was contorted into a pained grimace. "Great, so now we have two teammates down for the count." Yusuke says.

The fight with Bakuken stunk, literally. The large demon used his own evaporated sweat as a mist. The demon that had bragged about being stronger than Yusuke turned out to have a glass jaw, knocked out by a single punch. Kurama was having better luck at looking after their wounded friends so he would be staying behind to look after them while Yusuke would be taking on their next opponent. The megaphone for the arena crackled and the human team was reminded once again why they hated the Black Club. "After a review of the match between Ryuuzaki and Touya, the chair members have decided that the count out for the fallen human was too slow. Therefore, the forfeit from Team Mashotsukai has been negated!"

Yusuke was starting to see red. "Are you kidding me? My teammate nearly killed himself for that win and they're going to say that it didn't count?" Everyone on team Urameshi had been pissed off, if Ryuuzaki was conscious he'd probably be ranting like Yusuke. "Everyone in this place is against us Urameshi, we should have expected this." Kurama says bitterly. They were the underdogs that everyone had expected to die in the preliminaries, no one thought that they'd be a threat. Now that they had proven other wise the fat cats in the sky box were going to bend the rules or outright break them for their favored teams to make it out on top.

In the next match, although Yusuke had clearly won his fight, the chair men used the same excuse to nullify their win once again. And they hadn't even tried hiding the fact they were clearly biased against the entire team when Kurama was disqualified for "unspecified reasons." Ryoshi smirked, looking like he single handedly won for his entire team. There is no honor in winning like this. Jin, Touya and Gamma all thought. "You no longer have anyone to fight. That means-" "Hold on a minute! Not as long as Kuwabara Kazuma is here!" Kuwabara exclaims, standing to his feet with a wince as he felt a sharp pain in his side. "I can't let Ryuuzaki out do me after all. Don't think he could fight even if he wanted to." He says.

The fight between Kuwabara was more like a one sided beating, with the human being used as a punching bag by the obnoxious demon. **_Come on Kuwabara, kick this bastard's ass!_** Kuwabara shook his head, maybe that last blow to the head gave him a concussion. He could have sworn that he heard Annabel. **_That's because it is me! Honestly, didn't you know that all the girls are in the stands cheering you on?_** He heard Annabel's voice ask in his head. Kuwabara looked into the stands, his eyes turning to hearts as soon as he saw Yukina. That was when Team Urameshi got their second one hit K.O. **_The power of love is terrifying._** Annabel mumbled to herself as she finally allowed herself to rest.

As soon as the matches were over Hiei stalked over to his team, easily tossing Ryuuzaki over his shoulder. "Hey, he's still injured!" Yusuke protests, Hiei scoffed. "The idiot will be fine, he needs the body heat." He says, repositioning the taller male so he would be more comfortable. Ryuuzaki relaxed in the fire demon's hold, starting to drool on the demon's shoulder. "I'll join you both later, as he warms up the ice staunching the bleeding will probably melt as well. It's quite refreshing seeing you care for your teammates." Kurama says with thinly veiled amusement, Hiei glared. Now that Kurama was aware of who Ryuuzaki really was, he was not going to let Hiei live this moment down.


	10. Chapter 9

**A/N: Going to visit family this Christmas so I'm posting this chapter today. Happy holidays everyone and hope that everyone had a great year!**

 **Key**

 _ **Bold Italic: Telepathy/ Densetsu speaking**_

 **Bold: Flashback/Mindscape**

* * *

 **Chapter 9: Bonding**

Ryuuzaki was unconscious for an entire day, and he had to be pried off of Hiei's arm as he slept. It was hilarious seeing Hiei trying to squirm his way out of the blond's grip without waking the man. His stab wound was now bandaged and the Masked Fighter sped up the healing process once her energy was back to an acceptable level. The martial artist raised an eyebrow. "You're awfully attached to this human. I'm sure it will break your admirers hearts." She states as Ryuuzaki grumbled, rolling onto his uninjured side. Hiei scowled. "I'm only looking out for them under Koenma's orders." His teammate didn't look convinced.

As soon as Ryuuzaki awoke he was jumped by a very enthusiastic Miranda. The blond let out a pained hiss as she squeezed his sides with a little too much force. "Oi, I'm still injured here!" Ryuuzaki growls, trying to push the energetic girl off him. "Do you know how much I was looking forward to meeting you? At least I know why he kept rejecting me so much!" Miranda says giddily, her hazel eyes shining. Ryuuzaki recognized that look and let out a terrified squeak. "No, no way. It's nothing like that, it's completely platonic!" Miranda didn't look like she was listening. "I totally don't blame him though, you are pretty cute." She says, getting uncomfortably close. Ryuuzaki's face turned a dark red and he shoved Miranda, someone that was like a little sister to him, off and ran like the hounds of hell were chasing him.

XoXoXoXo

"From a male's perspective Miranda is fucking terrifying." Ryuuzaki says, shivering. Hiei deadpanned. "You're the one that befriended such a twisted individual." He states, Ryuuzaki groaned. "Hiei, she's already shipping us in her head. She's going to see any interactions between us that are civil or friendly as evidence that we're together." He says, burying his head in his arms. "Shipping?" Hiei wasn't familiar with the term and it showed. "It's when fan girls see two attractive individuals that appear to have chemistry and actively encourage them to have a romantic relationship." Ryuuzaki says awkwardly, Densetsu snickered. **_And something that you are guilty of as well if I recall correctly._** It says in amusement, making its host blush. All of us have our vices, at least the ones I've paired together are fictional! Right? **_You thought that this world was fictional too sweet heart._** Densetsu states.

"You still owe me an explaination." Hiei says, ignoring how flustered Ryuuzaki looked. "Right, Densetsu. I guess it appeared to me when I first tapped into my powers and we've been communicating since we rescued Yukina." Ryuuzaki says hesitantly. "And you didn't deem this important enough to tell anyone?" Hiei asks coldly, Ryuuzaki glared. "When I first starting hearing another voice in my head, my first thought was not of some super natural entity communicating with me. I legitimately thought that sometime during my training that I'd gone crazy and developed a split personality. Training was hell." Ryuuzaki says solemnly, remembering how close he came to death every time he fought Suzaku or Seiryuu. So many times that he just wanted to curl up in a ball from the pain and give up, only for Densetsu to give the encouragement that he needed to carry on. The dragon wasn't an ass all the time.

"And it just helps you?" Hiei asks skeptically. Ryuuzaki nervously fiddled with his pendant as he wondered how to explain this weird relationship. "I guess you could say it's symbiotic. I let Densetsu feel the thrill of fighting and it keeps the both of us from dying. Apparently our arrival here was because my life was too boring for the over sized lizard." Ryuuzaki growled bitterly. So one of the girls was the source of the power spike, but she doesn't emit the same amount that was felt in the Spirit World. Hiei thought, watching as Ryuuzaki punched the ground. "Oi, Hiei! Ryuuzaki! The rest of the girls want to meet you!" Yusuke yells, Ryuuzaki and Hiei both grimaced. "I'd rather face those soulless corpses again." The blond says, shivering. He'd never be able to eat sea weed without dry heaving at the sight. Hiei just didn't want to interact with the crazy human women.

XoXoXoXoXo

When both males eventually had to return to the hotel, Ryuuzaki was pleasantly surprised to see Yukina with the humans. When his training brought him outside the castle he had come across her, Yukina smiled shyly. "Ryuuzaki, it's nice to see you again. I must thank you for the invitation to watch the matches." Yukina says as Ryuuzaki scratched the back of his head. "It was a fair trade for helping me build a better resistance to the cold. Without it I would've just been an ice statue!" Ryuuzaki exclaims, feeling Kuwabara's heated glare and the other curious gazes on him. "You two have met? When?" Yusuke asks. "Well…"

* * *

 **"What do you mean you won't let Seiryuu train me until I've built a resistance to the cold?! This was the main reason Koenma revived you all! You didn't have any hesitation about electrocuting me repeatedly!" Ryuuzaki exclaims, his eyes turning a dark violet.**

 **"If you entered Seiryuu's training room as you are, you will freeze to death. And despite the short time frame we've spent with you, we are investing our techniques in you. Just because you have the Spirit Prince backing you does not mean that we shall do everything you say." Suzaku says apathetically, making the blond flinch.**

 **XoXoXoXo**

 **"Tch, how am I supposed to build up a resistance when Suzaku is the only one around that has the same types of powers as myself? I am not going to sit for hours on end, freezing myself." Ryuuzaki grumbles, wandering away from the decrepit castle. He kicked a pebble and glared at the small demons that hung around the outskirts, daring them to attack while he was in a bad mood.**

 **He hadn't been expecting to run into the ice maiden or anyone for that matter. In his agitated state his cool energy swirled, mirroring his frustration. "Um, excuse me. You're a human, aren't you?" He heard someone ask quietly, he was about to send them a glare when he recognized the figure. It was nice to see that she was alright.**

 **"Err, yeah. Really wasn't expecting to run into anyone during my tantrum to be honest." Ryuuzaki says sheepishly, his harsh features softening now that he wasn't scowling. Yukina giggled. "You remind me of Hiei-san. You look really scary but you're actually nice aren't you?"**

 **"Depends on who you ask." Ryuuzaki says tersely. Both Byakko and Genbu were convinced he was the devil incarnate when he started chasing them down whenever he and Densetsu needed to vent. "A group of humans helped me not too long ago. Maybe I could do the same?"**

* * *

"She helped me with my training and in return I told her about my teammates I was going to fight with. She was determined to meet you all again so we arranged a way to get her into the human world unharmed." Ryuuzaki says with a light blush. Honestly that wasn't really his best moment when he was in the Makai. He was glad that he hadn't come across a demon that would have actually challenged him in his angered state.

"That sounds so sweet." Miranda says as Ryuuzaki bolted to hide behind Kurama, not trusting the teen to be anywhere near him. Yusuke and Kuwabara laughed. "You're scared of a girl!" Kuwabara laughs, Ryuuzaki glared. "I have every right to be. You just don't realize how dangerous they can be because you're not attractive enough to run into the crazies!" Kuwabara's entire body blanched and Yusuke continued laughing, even Kurama looked amused.


	11. Chapter 10

**A/N: Well, this was going to return to the action but my brain wanted angst and fluff. What a wonderful way to start a new year.**

 **Key**

 _ **Italic Bold: telepathy/ Densetsu speaking**_

 **Bold: Flashback/ Mindscape**

* * *

 **Chapter 10: Weathering the Storm**

"So what did I miss when I was out?" Ryuuzaki asks, Hiei smirked. "It seems that Yusuke got a pet." Hiei says, motioning to the creature being held by Keiko. Ryuuzaki howled with laughter. "Oh my god, it's a furby with floppy ears!" He exclaims, wincing as his side began to hurt. "Ryuuzaki." The blond startled when he saw the teen version of Koenma, he bowed respectfully. "Yes sir?" Ryuuzaki asks, Koenma's brow furrowed. "I… apologize for dragging you into this." Koenma says solemnly, Ryuuzaki just shook his head. "It was just my horrible luck, that's all. Things will only become more troublesome after this tournament, I need the experience." Ryuuzaki says quietly. "Oh?" "It's a gut feeling that I have sir. And they haven't been wrong yet."

Koenma had pulled the blond away to further discuss their "arrangement", Yusuke watched the blond with suspicion. "How does this guy know Koenma anyways? Is he another spirit detective he never bothered to mention?" Yusuke wonders aloud, getting punched in the head by Genkai. "Shut up idiot, everyone has secrets let Ryuuzaki keep his." She states. "Well you seem to be buddies with him Hiei. Come on, there has to be something under that goofy mask he has." Yusuke states. "A bundle of anxiety and self-deprecation is what you'd find. Don't you have better things to do than gossip like a bunch of school girls?" Ryuuzaki asks bluntly, an eyebrow twitching in irritation as his icy aura began to seep out.

Ryuuzaki knew it was inevitable for the boys to wonder about his identity but wasn't thrilled that no one had bothered asking him to his face. "Ryuuzaki" was just his true self without his usual filters holding him back and he considered himself to be an open person. He was beginning to wonder if this ruse that Koenma wanted him to do was worth all this drama. "Did it occur to any of you that you could've just asked? Out of all of you it was the antisocial fire demon that had the balls to even talk to me." He says, deciding to head back to the hotel to see if they sold any coffee there.

"I see you're recovering well." Mental sirens in Ryuuzaki's head blared as recognized the aura of the speaker. He steeled his gaze and reined in his spiritual energy threatening to lash out at the large demon. "Demon plants do wonders compared to human medicine. I suppose our team has you to thank for having a non-biased judging at the end of our match. You must really want to fight Yusuke." Ryuuzaki says, his nails digging into his arm as he attempted not to tremble under Toguro's power. The tall demon smirked. "You had quite a bit of potential as well Annabel, looking forward to see your future matches." Toguro says, leaving a shaken Ryuuzaki in his wake. _**Snap out of it! He's only trying to get you shaken up for our next match!**_ Densetsu hissed. Congrats to him then, I'm totally shaken. Ryuuzaki thought, searching for an uninhabited part of the island to safely release his energy begging to be released.

XoXoXoXoXo

Ryuuzaki only returned to the hotel once it began raining heavily, speeding up his pace when he heard the crackle of lightning followed by thunder. He stormed past his teammates without a single word to the room shared between him, Hiei and the Masked Fighter. As soon as the door shut behind him he grabbed a blanket and trembled. It reminded him of the training he'd endured for this tournament and he hated what it did to him. He loved storms as a child and now he could no longer enjoy it, recalling when electricity forced his body to be a conduit. There was another clap of thunder and the trembling worsened, his fingers digging into his palm hard enough to draw blood. "Dammit, I could stand my ground against a demon stronger than me but can't take a little thunder? What the hell is wrong with me?!"

Ryuuzaki could feel himself starting to hyperventilate when the door to his room opened, when he saw Hiei he wished he could just disappear. Hiei just clicked his teeth. "I could feel the energy spike from the training grounds. What is it?" Hiei demands. Ryuuzaki was about to answer when it thundered once again and he choked, feeling his throat constrict. He couldn't breath. HE COULDN'T BREATH! Hiei was out of his element here but it looked like the human was having a panic attack and was having issues breathing. "Anna, calm down. You need to breath." Ryuuzaki looked up, face pale and eyes dilated. Hiei cursed under his breath, why couldn't it have been Kurama to stumble upon their teammate?

"C-Can't." Ryuuzaki forced out, flinching when he felt one of Hiei's hands on his shoulder and another forcing him to look into the demon's crimson gaze. "Just focus on me and repeat what I do." Hiei says, taking slow and exaggerated breaths until Ryuuzaki began to copy him. The blond still looked shaken but was starting to calm down. Ryuuzaki forced out a laugh. "It's stupid isn't it? Before I trained with the Saint Beasts I loved storms, now whenever there's a storm this happens." He says, his voice cracking. Hiei's eyes narrowed. "The Saint Beasts were killed." He says coolly. "Seiryuu was the only one that Koenma knew of that could have helped control my powers and were temporarily given bodies. Every time I hear thunder it just reminds me of the first time that I fought with Suzaku and-" There was another clap of thunder and he whimpered, throwing himself at Hiei and clinging to him.

Hiei just grit his teeth, Koenma tossed this human at a group of demons that even they had struggled with. For training. Koenma had done some stupid things while he was under the toddler prince's employment but this had to be the worst offense. "Take off the pendant." Hiei ordered, Ryuuzaki looked at him with a mix of panic and confusion. "But-" "The others won't wander in here. You'd be able to sense them before they'd enter." Ryuuzaki looked stunned but complied, taking off the relic to reveal her original form. She jolted when she held a hand on her head and fingers running through her hair. After a while she began to relax, finding the action oddly soothing. There was still thunder rumbling in the background but Hiei used his own cloak to muffle the sound. Eventually Annabel found herself drifting off to sleep, leaving Hiei to wonder why he was comforting this human.


	12. Chapter 11

**A/N: Why do all the characters on Team Uratogi have long names? And I have to write them over and over again. Sorry for the long wait but we've finally gotten back on track!**

 **Key**

 _ **Italic Bold: Densetsu speaking/Telepathy**_

 **Bold: Flashback/ Mindscape**

 _Italic: English_

* * *

 **Chapter 11: Broken** **Fairy tales**

"What do you mean we have to be relocated onto another island? And why by helicopter and not by boat?! Has everyone forgotten that everyone, including the sponsors of this tournament want all of us to lose?!" Ryuuzaki exclaims, Kuwabara raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong? Can't handle heights little man?" The delinquent teased, Ryuuzaki glared. "No, I have a healthy dose of paranoia and an aversion of crashing into the ocean in a metal death trap. _I'd rather swim to the island myself than put my life into the hands of criminals!"_ He hissed in a combination of Japanese and English.

"Ryuuzaki..." "No way man, not happening! I like keeping all of my limbs!" Ryuuzaki exclaims, irritating his teammates. They had been trying to coax him into one of the choppers but the blond stubbornly refused to budge on the issue. Finally Hiei had enough and punched Ryuuzaki hard enough to knock the man out. "Let's go already." Hiei says, tossing Ryuuzaki over his shoulder and into one of the helicopters. Kuwabara winced. "Let's just hope that none of our opponents throws him into the air during a match." Kuwabara comments.

XoXoXoXoXo

When Team Urameshi and Team Uratogi entered the new stadium, they noted that the arena was much larger and now there was a new announcer. Team Urameshi was already down two men and one of their teammates already looked to be out of commission. "Where are the other two? They decide to skip out?" Shishiwakamaru asks. "They didn't think you were a challenge." Kuwabara retorts, the old demon on Team Uratogi raised an eyebrow. "And what of your passed out teammate?" Onji asks in amusement. Hiei dropped Ryuuzaki unceremoniously to the floor, making the blond groan in pain. "Oh come on, let me be lazy just this once." Ryuuzaki complains, standing up and stretching his limbs with a yawn. His eyes squinted as he looked at the other team, eyes widening in surprise.

"Oh, I am definitely looking forward to this round." Ryuuzaki says with a predatory smirk. He knew exactly what was going to happen and was looking forward to it. **_"You just want to see a handsome kitsune."_** Densetsu says bluntly. **_This may be a male body right now but I am a woman. Do you even have a gender?_** Ryuuzaki wonders. **_I'm a dragon._** Densetsu says bluntly. It was decided that the matches would be decided by chance with Shishiwakamaru throwing a pair of dice. Since Team Urameshi had six members, their free slot was Ryuuzaki's name. Hiei was out for blood and Ryuuzaki just wanted to skip to Kurama's match already.

The first match was between Makintaro, a demon that didn't look like he had much going for him other than muscles, and Hiei. And Hiei was just oozing killing intent. Kuwabara shivered. "I kinda feel sorry for the other team." Kuwabara comments, Ryuuzaki raised an eyebrow. "These demons want to kill us Kuwabara, I just want to get the fighting over with." He states, leaning against the wall. "It seems the match has already started." Kurama comments, Ryuuzaki nodded in agreement as Kuwabara looked confused. The blond just patted his arm in sympathy. "Don't you think Hiei's opponent is missing something?" Ryuuzaki hints.

Kuwabara found out about Makintao having an arm removed about the same time that the demon himself realized it. "Look, he's been unarmed!" Ryuuzaki jokes, Kuwabara deadpanned. "Seriously?" "What? Oh come on, I can not be the only one that thought of that pun!" He exclaims. Hiei made quick work of his opponent, stabbing him through the skull. "Roll the dice again, and this time give me a more challenging opponent." Hiei says, cleaning blood off of his blade.

The next dice throw landed on Kuromomotarou and Ryuuzaki. **_We make this match as short as possible._** Ryuuzaki states with a sadistic grin, causing his teammates to wonder about his mental state. _ **I think I actually feel sorry for this demon.**_ Densetsu states. Before Kuromomotarou went up to the ring he was pulled aside by his teammates. "From what we could gather from his past fights, Ryuuzaki appears to have a heart condition. With enough stress he should just have a heart attack and hopefully die. So drag this fight out as long as you can." Onji orders.

XoXoXoXoXo

Ryuuzaki's height was dwarfed by the tall demon with a peach bandanna. Not the color, but a completely white bandanna with a picture of a peach. "First there was a demon that looked like a wild child, now there's a peach boy. The advertisers must have loved all of you." Ryuuzaki states. His opponent just smirked. "I'll give you a free shot little man." He states, the blond raised an eyebrow. "I have no problem giving you a quick death, thanks for the offer." Ryuuzaki says as Kuromomotarou's eyes widened in horror. If it was a killing blow then he wouldn't have a chance to adapt to the attack! He opened his mouth to protest but was struck in the forehead with an icicle spear that pierced his brain, killing him instantly. There was a stunned silence before the crowd began to boo.

"Oh come on! He was literally asking for it!" Ryuuzaki retorts as he was declared as a winner. He walked back to his teammates with Kuwabara inching away from him. Ryuuzaki sighed. "Last time I dragged out a fight I almost died. Do you really think that I was about to repeat the same mistake?" He asks. "But that wasn't sportsman like at all!" "That just means that one of us gets to fight sooner." Hiei says as Shishiwakamaru rolled the dice. It landed on Kurama and Ura-Urashima. Ryuuzaki almost let out an excited squeal. Sometimes I wonder if there's something wrong with that guy. Kuwabara thought as Ryuuzaki smiled jovially as Kurama walked up to the ring.


	13. Chapter 12

**A/N: Honestly, I have no excuse for putting this off for so long. It's like a train that suddenly decided to derail. And to anyone that stumbled across this that's currently reading my KHR stories... Welcome! *waves like a spaz* And Ryuuzaki's fighting style will take some inspiration from X23 in this chapter.**

 **Key**

 _ **Italic Bold: Densetsu speaking/Telepathy**_

 **Bold: Flashback/Mindscape**

 _Italic: English_

* * *

 **Chapter 12: Deceitful Masks and Inner Demons**

Ura-Urashima looked like a cheap copy of Yusuke in Ryuuzaki's opinion. And who fought with a fishing rod in the first place? "Why were you so excited for this fight anyways?" Kuwabara asks, Ryuuzaki turned away from the teen to hide his flushing face. "Reasons." He muttered as they watched the fight. It wasn't very interesting at first and the crowd was beginning to boo. "Come on, show us some blood!"

It was painfully obvious to anyone on the outside that Kurama's heart clearly wasn't in the fight. Ura-Urameshi's fighting skills were mediocre at best. Ryuuzaki knew that there was a reason for it, but couldn't recall at that moment. He was starting to wish that he could fast forward the fight in order to reach the good part. His inside information about the series might have been dwindling by the day, but it was a moment he was determined not to forget.

Meanwhile, in the stands, Miranda had an epiphany. "Oh my god, this is Annabel's favorite scene!" She squealed, Botan and the other girls looked at her in confusion. "What?" Miranda quickly back tracked. "Remember how she can kinda see into the future? One of the visions she had involved Kurama briefly turning into his demon form. I don't know what it looks like but her mouth was drooling as she tried describing it." Miranda says, Botan looked skeptical.

While Kurama and Ura-Urashima exchanged blows, the fisherman seemed to trip. He smirked and capitalized on his "moment of weakness," much to the disdain of Team Urameshi. "That demon might be an obnoxious moron but he has something planned." Hiei says darkly. "It figures that someone would take advantage of Kurama's charity for their own gain. If Kurama doesn't kill him, I will." Ryuuzaki growled.

A smoke covered the field and the crowd gave a collective shiver as they felt a large power spike. Ryuuzaki was so giddy with excitement he couldn't stay still. "Which one is emitting that power?" Kuwabara asks nervously, breaking out in a nervous sweat. Ryuuzaki just grinned, not wanting to give anything away. "That is Kurama in his true form. I wouldn't mind fighting him." Hiei states. "I wouldn't mind if he killed me." Ryuuzaki muttered under his breath.

The smoke dissipated, revealing a kitsune with long silver hair and silver tail. Ura-Urameshi was nowhere to be seen, instead it appeared to be some sort of boar demon.

 **XoXoXoXoXo**

When Shishiwakamaru rolled the dice, Ryuuzaki started cursing every deity he knew of. "Are you serious?! I had to face a swordsman before, damn it!" Kuwabara, Hiei and Kurama looked like they wanted to be the ones fighting. Shishiwakamaru just raised an eyebrow. He supposed it could have been worse, he could have been stuck with the weaker human.

As Ryuuzaki walked up to the ring he felt Densetsu's presence in the back of his mind. He cracked his knuckles, then his neck. It didn't really do anything but it was intimidating if done right. "Now it's time to see if you can back up your talk or if your team is full of gimmicks." Ryuuzaki states. "Not the big prey that I wanted but you'll do. I may even take your pendant as a trophy." Ryuuzaki held back a snarl, he couldn't allow the demon to know it was more than a trinket.

"Shishiwakamaru versus Ryuuzaki. Let the battle begin!" Ryuuzaki materialized his claws, catching Shishiwakamaru's sword. He's fast. Ryuuzaki thought, pushing his opponent back with spirit enhanced strength. He twisted his hand palm up, going for an uppercut. Shishiwakamaru dodged, aiming for Ryuuzaki's unprotected shoulder. Ryuuzaki side stepped the swing, bringing up his foot with an ice blade extension.

The slash managed to catch Shishiwakamaru off guard, blood starting to ooze from the light cut. Ryuuzaki winced, that could've gone better. Come on, think! There has to be some way that I can overwhelm this guy!

Shishiwakamaru's expression began to darken, unnerving Ryuuzaki. "I suppose I should stop taking this match so lightly." Shishiwakamaru extended the hilt of the strange sword, making it more comparable to a spear. As he swung the weapon, an inhuman wail began to emanate from the sword. The sound was driving those in the stands mad.

"I find this song to be quite beautiful. It's a shame you'll never hear it in it's entirety!" Shishiwakamaru jumped, swinging the sword downward. Ryuuzaki dodged, watching as the sword unleashed what he could only describe as the souls of the damned. The skulls went into the stands and on the sidelines, targeting anyone with reiki. His blood froze when he heard a familiar scream from the stands. **_Densetsu, you take over._** Ryuuzaki growled.

 **XoXoXoXoXo**

Now that Hiei knew of the other entity that inhabited Ryuuzaki, he could immediately tell when it took over. The attacks were more focused on pure strength, dogging the opponent into submission. He gave a toothy grin, his claws harshly clashing with his opponent's sword. "You'll regret targeting my friends birdie." Ryuuzaki sneered.

It took all of Shishiwakamaru's concentration to keep himself from being gutted like a fish. Violet eyes shone in sadistic delight, it was hard to believe that a mere human could send shivers down his spine. Just as it looked like he was going to sink his claws into Shishiwakamaru's stomach the color of his eyes flickered. Instead of feeling the claws pierce through his organs, he was swiftly punched in the gut. As he collapsed Shishiwakamaru saw the violet in his eyes fade to an icy blue.

 _ **Why did you stop? That blow would have killed him!**_ Densetsu hissed, Ryuuzaki kicked away the sword and pinned Shishiwakamaru to the ground with ice. **_I don't want to be like them._** Ryuuzaki retorted coldly. He didn't want to be a cold blooded killer, not like the beast that inhabited his mind. He also had no doubt that, if Genkai deemed it necessary, the old woman would kill him if she deemed it necessary.

"10! Winner by pin, Ryuuzaki!" The crowd collectively booed, demanding more violence. Ryuuzaki walked over to his teammates, visibly shaken. He had been so close to killing the demon, it was so tempting. To let his claws sink into Shishiwakamaru's gut and watch him bleed out in the ring. He suddenly felt sick to his stomach. God, what was Densetsu doing to him?!


End file.
